Bhopal, Oct 23 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday said that the new Integrated Fisheries Policy-2026 will ensure doubling of the state’s fish production and usher in a “blue revolution” by connecting water resources with investment, innovation, and export facilities.
He was speaking at the National Fisheries Investors and Exporters Conclave-2026 here.
Yadav and Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Union Minister of State S P Singh Baghel inaugurated the conclave.
The Chief Minister said his government was also conserving aquatic life through better management of the state’s vast water resources.
“Madhya Pradesh is home to many rivers and has several large water structures. We are transforming the available water sources into multi-income sources,” Yadav said.
A single water source can provide water for drinking purposes, agriculture, livestock, fish production, water tourism and aquatic life conservation, he said.
Under the new policy, Yadav said, the state aims to establish 1,00,000 new cage culture ponds. Large ponds will also be constructed in protected forest areas for the benefit of both wildlife and fish farmers.
The chief minister also said that the fisheries industry in Madhya Pradesh will be integrated with food processing units. It will encourage processing, value addition, packaging and marketing, he said.
Fisheries will be integrated with MSMEs, providing all kinds of incentives, Yadav added.
Investors in the fisheries sector will be provided with land, technical assistance and various other facilities, the CM said.
At the conclave, Yadav, along with Union ministers Singh and Baghel, released the Madhya Pradesh Fisheries Investment and Export Guidelines 2026, as well as an SOP for the export portal.
On this occasion, 500 cage culture tanks, established for the first time in Madhya Pradesh through the private investment and participation (PPP) mode, were inaugurated at the Barna Reservoir in Raisen district.
Yadav and Union ministers Singh and Baghel also transferred administrative approvals for a scheme for the integrated development of Madhya Pradesh’s reservoirs and Amrit Sarovars.
Union minister Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched several schemes for the welfare and social empowerment of the fisherfolk community.
India is currently the second largest fish producer in the world, he said, adding that fish production in the country was 95.7 lakh tonnes in 2014, and it has now increased 106 percent to 198 lakh tonnes.
The Union government is also encouraging fish exports, which have reached Rs 62,408 crore. “Fishermen have received credit cards through Government of India schemes. Today, we are exporting fish to 130 countries around the world,” Singh said.
Fish production in the country’s inland states has increased 147 percent, and the new fisheries policy will make Madhya Pradesh self-reliant, the minister added.
The policy was a commendable initiative and reflects the chief minister’s commitment to growing Madhya Pradesh’s fisheries industry and leading the inland states in fish exports, Singh added.
Union Minister of State Baghel said that PM Modi has set the target of doubling farmers’ income, which can be achieved by boosting farming, fisheries, animal husbandry, goat rearing, poultry farming, floriculture, medicinal farming, and organic farming.
The Fisheries Department will play a key role in increasing farmers’ income, he said.
Madhya Pradesh has big rivers like the Narmada and Kshipra, reservoirs, and dams, and installation of one lakh cages in the Indira Sagar reservoir will set a unique example in the country, the minister said.
PM Modi took a revolutionary step by launching the Matsya Sampada Yojana, Baghel said, adding that India is a leading nation in milk production and fish production and has achieved remarkable growth in animal husbandry, fisheries, and dairy sectors.
(PTI News)
